More often than not, preparing or planning for something will make it more successful.

Spontaneity is a beautiful thing but it is impossible to live every moment without some premeditation.

Dreams, goals, ambitions, objectives, and desires can only become reality if we prepare. A single person can only have so much luck or fortune of being in the “right place at the right time.”

Sometimes we have to bring ourselves to those places on purpose. We should introduce ourselves to people who can lead and mentor us. We have to set aside time to research and learn about our dreams and goals to be able to achieve them.

Photo by Sorin Sîrbu on Unsplash

Day 4 of Self-Discipline is about creating your systems. Willpower is not about sitting in front of your temptations so that you can deny them. It’s about planning ahead to avoid the temptations in the first place.

1. If you want to follow a strict diet, you would only buy food that is included in the diet. In my family home we always said, “If we don’t buy it, we won’t eat it!” And honestly, you’ll probably save money too. This takes a little self-control at the grocery store but once you leave that store you’ll feel great. One small victory for your diet!

2. Let’s say you get too distracted by Netflix, there’s been too much binge watching going on…we’ve all been there. This one is easy… CANCEL YOUR SUBSCRIPTION. Avoid the temptation by removing it from the equation. And again, you save a little money. You can always start up the subscription again. Fun fact: Netflix will save your watchlist for a certain amount of time for these kinds of situations. It could be a good way to get you back on track. Once you’ve completed a project or feel like you have extra time for leisure…Netflix can be your reward!

3. I mentioned my hitting the snooze button problem in my post, Modus Operandi. How can I create a system to help break this habit? Well, first I’m going to try to set up my alarm on the opposite side of the room. This prompts me to physically get up to turn off the alarm. Next, I will write myself a note. Perhaps on large paper right in front of my face so that when I wake up it’s the first thing I see. It will say something like, “Hello Gorgeous!” or “Let’s be awesome today!” I will report back my results.

The point here is, we must build our self-discipline. We should create systems of success for our short-term and long-term goals not just rely on our ability to say no. We can use preparedness, avoidance, and rewards instead.

Those “just say no” moments will still arise, but hopefully in creating our own systems, and roadblocks if you will, our self-discipline will be ready for the unplanned moments.